Florida Bill Says No To Enforcing Federal Gun Laws

Florida – On January 27th, State Rep. Dan Eagle (R-Cape Coral) introduced a bill to the Florida Legislature (HB733) that prohibits any state agency from cooperating with enforcement of federal gun laws, past, present, and future.

Prohibit the backup for federal agents who attempt to enforce Obama’s gun control agenda… can that even be done? Absolutely.

The idea behind the bill is a legal principle called the anti-commandeering doctrine. The doctrine states that the federal government cannot force states to help implement or enforce a federal act or program. The anti-commandeering doctrine rests on four Supreme Court cases cases dating back to 1842. Printz v. US serves as the main lynchpin in those rulings.

According to the Tenth Amendment Center, “Montana sheriff Jay Printz and Arizona sheriff Richard Mack sued the federal government over provisions in the 1993 Brady Gun Bill that required chief law enforcement officers in each county to administer background checks. The Supreme Court majority held the feds could not force compliance by state officers.” The ruling stated in part:

“The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program. It matters not whether policy making is involved, and no case-by-case weighing of the burdens or benefits is necessary; such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty.”

It is interesting to note that most of the time, federal agents use local and state law enforcement as back ups for enforcement actions. The FBI, DEA, and ATF and other federal agencies all use state and local police officers to assist them. Cut that assistance off, and either they will have to enforce with legions of federal agents for every instance, (an expensive method), or skip it entirely. There are always those who will assist federal agents anyway. With a legal prohibition, there is hope that such assistance will be reduced to a minimum and throw a tremendous monkey wrench into the federal government’s ability to enforce gun control.

A Florida Senate version of Eagle’s bill is to be introduced soon. Whether or not the state legislative body will accept the bill is problematic, but it’s a step in the right direction.

“If we are to get America back, if we are indeed to return to the Constitutional Republic we were meant to be, then it will be up to us…who have the guts and dedication to tell the feds that we will no longer tolerate their intervention, control, meddling, mandates, or criminal behavior.” Richard Mack